God did not make any mistake when making humans. Take a look at each other. No one is exactly the same; it is not a mistake. God does not make a mistake. If human cloned a man, he or she would be proud whether the cloned man is flawed. However, it is God who made us and he never makes a mistake. Do any of you wonder, “Celebrities in TV are pretty, but why did God make me look like this?” God made you the way you are for a reason. Everything changed after the people God made in Eden committed sins. Relationship between humans and God ended and the earth was cursed. Humans created in the image of God became sinners and bore sinners-for this reason, Cain who never learned to kill murdered his brother. When flaws are revealed, we become enemies with God and live in sin. Jacob had 12 sons. The eleventh son was Joseph. His brothers envied and hated him. When they plotted to kill him, Judah, one of the brothers said, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him.” So Joseph was not killed but sold as a slave. Judah seems loyal as a brother compared to others. However, Genesis 38 reveals a great flaw. Bible is an honest book; it does not only record good stories. The Bible records the truth. As Joseph’s story is opening up, today’s passage about Judah seems unrelated. Furthermore, today’s story concerns shameful and immortal behavior between father-in-law and daughter-in-law. However, the story contains a personal message of redemption that reveals God’s grace, promise, and His fulfillment. Today we will see Judah’s terrible mistake and flaw.
Judah’s first flaw was disobedience and leaving his brothers. It is written in verses 1 and 2: 1At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. 2There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her;
Judah was suppose to live with his brothers; however, he left them. Jacob’s daughter Dinah once went out into the world out of curiosity, and the consequences were being raped and risking going into a war. Judah went out; this is where the problem began. He went to Canaan, met the daughter of a man named Shua, married her, and lay with her. Her name is not even recorded in the Bible. Throughout Judah’s life, he never prayed concerning his marriage. Judah knew who Israelites must marry through Jacob, but without thinking, he married the Canaanite girl because of her beauty. Because he left his brothers, there was no one to rebuke him. If you leave the church, no one will correct you. At times, you may feel like you are being rebuked or scolded when you listen to sermon. So some people leave the church. The thought of no one correcting you sound pleasing. Some call the church an ark. Just as Noah’s ark saved him and his family, some pray that their church would become an ark that saves many people-it is a good prayer. Remember this: Noah’s ark was not silent and quiet. The animals created a lot of noises and smells. Still, the family came into the ark and lived there because it was the only way to life. If we leave the community of faith, we will face a crisis. Without doubt scandals, jealousy, and envy arise in church. For this reason, at times people leave the church in despair. Still, we must stay in the church. If you leave the community of faith, you may make a similar mistake as Judah. Even though Judah’s brothers had problems, the land where they lived was the Land of Promise by the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. However, Judah ran away from that. He gave up the community of faith, community of family, and the land of God’s promise and went to a foreign world in order to look for happiness on his own. At that moment, Judah’s spirituality hardened. Judah seems to make the wisest choice, but in fact, he made the stupidest choice.
Judah’s second flaw is written in verses 3-5: 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. 4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.
Judah gave birth to three sons; he must have been happy. However, Judah was not spiritually mature enough to raise the children in spirituality. He could not even control himself. As a result, when the first child grew up, he gave a Canaanite woman for marriage. Her name was Tamar. They must not marry Canaanites for they worshipped idols and did not fear God. Without asking God, Judah married a Canaanite and allowed his first son to do the same. God did not leave them alone.
It is written in verse 7: 7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so the LORD put him to death. God put the wicked son to death.
As soon as they married, before even bearing a son, Er died. Tamar suddenly became a young widow. Instead of coming back to his senses, Judah took his second son Onan and told him to lie with his brother’s wife to fulfill the duty as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for his brother. Onan was also a young man. The custom back in those days was for the younger brother to fulfill the duty to produce offspring if the older brother died before bearing a child. However, Onan simply satisfied his sexual desires but did not bear any child for his children for they would not be his child-this attitude displeased God.
It is written in verse 10: What he did was wicked in the LORD’s sight; so he put him to death also.
Two of Judah’s sons suddenly died. Tamar was left alone and Shelah, the third sons, was still in his teens. The deaths of two sons were the consequences of their evil behaviors. Judah did not raise their children properly; he did not properly teach them faith. The children’s behaviors were passed on by their father. How did Judah live? This is the topic parents must pay attention to. Many parents say, “Do not become like me.” However, this is not easy. Because children grow based on what they see. Judah’s poor parenting led his children to misbehave. Children tend to learn more from actions than words. Children see how parents overcome a financial crisis. They see how parents spend their money. Children see who their parents turn to and depend on; children never forget seeing their parents getting on their knees and praying to God. Someone came into the store and caused a commotion to the owner. The owner’s son was so angry he wanted to shoot him if he had a gun. However, the father walked behind the store. When the son followed behind, he saw his father praying. The father prayed, “God, give me the strength to overcome this. Lord, I depend only on you”. The son never forgot seeing his father pray. Children know when their parents smile in front but curse from behind. Judah’s children died for living as their father did; this was Judah’s flaw.
His third flaw was lying. It is written in verse 11: 11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
The third son must grow and bear child with Tamar because his two older brothers died. However, Judah thought his third son would also die. So he told her to go back to her father’s home until his son grew. He lied to her. Judah never called Tamar after Shelah grew. It is written in verse 14: 14 she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. He did not keep his promise; he lied. Judah did not think about God’s will but his own thoughts came before that of God and he did not pray to God.
Verses 15 and 16 reveals another flaw: his incapability to control his sexual desires. It is written: 15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.
Judah’s wife died; he became a widower. He traveled far to Timnah to shear his sheep-at that time people gathered and celebrated as they sheared their sheep. He was away from home without a wife and all alone; he was lonely, a perfect moment to be seduced. Those who go on business trips: be careful. Temptations can rise where there is no sibling or family. Judah was in that moment. After shearing his sheep, Judah was bored. When he came out, he saw a woman who looked like a prostitute. The woman covered her face, so he did not recognize her, but she was his daughter-in-law. When she heard that Judah was coming, she got in disguise. Judah’s process of sinning began when he stood in the streets alone where he could be lured. Then he locked his eyes at the wrong things. I hope you would be careful in where you lay your eyes for even those who believed in Christ all their life can commit sins in just a moment. Your position in church does not matter. We can fall if we do not stay cautious. Judah is an example. If the wife died, is it okay to sleep with a prostitute? He knew he would be committing adultery for he learned from his father. Judah approached the woman. The woman did not lure him. Judah did not commit the sin because of the prostitute. He promised her a goat for a night with her. Because he did not have a goat with him, Tamar asked for Judah’s seal and its cord, and the staff as a pledge until she received the goat. He gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant. Remember this: Judah was wrong, but Tamar also was wrong. The purpose for Tamar was to bear a child to continue the family line of God. However, the process was embarrassing and disgraceful. The process must be proper. The Bible recorded this terrible story. Proverbs 16:8 says, “Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.” Be thorough concerning the problems of sexual desires. Many Christians fall because of sexual desires. Afterwards, Judah sent his friend Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman. Do not have a friend like Adullamite. Instead of rebuking Judah, he obeyed. Make a friend who would tell you the truth. However, the friend did not find her. Judah probably thought his sins would be hidden. Luke 12:3 says, 3What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. The dirty words spoken silently are heard loudly in the heaven. After several months, in verse 24, Judah’s sins were revealed. It is written, “About three months later Judah was told, ‘Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.’ Judah said, ‘Bring her out and have her burned to death!’”
He hears the news that Tamar who was at her father’s home was pregnant. Judah immediately judged that she made a mistake. Leviticus 20:14 says that one who commits adultery must be burned to death. Judah was angry. However, he was not worthy to be angry at her. Judah knew God’s laws so he yelled at Tamar. He acted as if he was righteous for the truth was hidden. It is written in John. A prostitute was caught and brought before Jesus. “She must be stoned” people cried, but Jesus said that those who did not sin could throw rocks at her. The Bible said that the eldest left the area first- probably because the adults committed more sins.
It is written in verse 25: As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”
Judah was finally shamed because of his sins. Tamar was brought before Judah. As soon as Judah saw the seal, cord, and the staff Tamar laid down, Judah’s face probably turned pale. He was shamed before many people. How should you behave in this embarrassing situation? You must kneel down and repent. When David saw a woman, he planned the war so her husband would be killed, then he married her. Then the prophet came to David. The prophet said, “A rich man had many sheep, but when he had a guest over, he took a sheep from a poor man and served his guest.” David was angry and was determined to punish the man. When the prophet said that the man was David, he repented immediately. He got on his knees and cried. Judah admitted the items belonged to him. Know that your way to life is to confess and repent to God. Then he did not sleep with her again. This is not the conclusion to the story. A twin is born from Tarmar: Perez and Zerah. It is recorded in Matthew 1:3, “Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,” Long after in that linage, Jesus was born. It is surprising that Jesus was born from a improper relationship. They had flaws and acted like prostitutes. Do you think we are better than Judah? We may have not slept with a prostitute. However, we spiritually committed adultery many times. We are no better than Judah. Still, God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. Ephesians 2:1 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins”. But God saved us. This is true grace. No one here is worthy to stand before God. Those who believe they are worthy are not worthy because of the belief they are worthy. Jesus was born through Judah, even though Judah had many flaws. Why was Jesus born from someone like Tamar and Judah and not someone righteous? It is to include someone similar to them, someone similar to us. God wants to save us even though we are filled with flaws. We thank God because even though we have more flaws than Judah, God still love us; we live by God’s grace. Because you believe in Christ, I pray that you would not live a worthless life, but life a worthy life being used by God.
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